Deadly Trail by William W. Johnstone

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This may be the best of all of the Johnstone Clan books I’ve read. It’s a very complex story with various threads that go in all kinds of directions and pulls in elements of the book before it. This was a heck of an accomplishment just to get the book out, but especially in light, for me, of the couple dozen I’ve read of the Johnstone Clan that never get to this point. This ghostwriter obviously wrote the first book in the series and this one, the second. Wonder if the writer wrote the third?

There is far extra care taken to develop characters. The dialogue of so many is very well handled. the settings are also well literally illustrated. Clearly the writer was well researched involving many subjects. One that especially stands out is a knowledge of trains that places the reader in a train and what happens on it. Outstanding work there.

Both the first in the series and this one also do something else out of the ordinary in a Johnstone Clan book: Include a number of newspaper stories, notes, letters, etc. This really ads to the legitimacy of the story.

One complaint would be the horrible cover. Seems the person in the photograph on the cover is to be the main character, Matt Jensen. But this photo is of a fellow in a costume and coonskin cap that Jensen never wears in the books. There are plenty of illustrators out there that could a dynamite job providing a powerful selling cover. Wish the Johnstone Clan would consider different covers.

Bottom line: i recommend this book. 9/10

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